Furnishing My Home!

A friend of mine has just moved into her studio apartment and it is about 500 sq. ft.  The apartment has a small kitchen, a laundry room and a bathroom.  My friend asked me if I have any ideas on how to create a partition between the living area  and her bed.  Yes, there is no bedroom door in this studio apartment and there is also no closet.   I remember seeing some really inspiring small space storage using curtains from Re-Nest recently.  I really like the idea of using curtains on closets as it has a softening effect on the room.  You can store your clothes, shoes, accessories, linens or personalized soccer balls in the closet and hide them behind the curtains. I cannot wait to show my friend these wonderful ideas from Re-Nest.

Time to say goodbye to the cold days.  The weather is getting warmer these days.  I’m in the mood to brighten up my home after a long winter.  There is nothing better than adding some colours to the home to welcome the summer.   I would like to get some colourful throw cushions for the sofa and maybe a colourful rug. I saw these photos at vtwonen.nl and fell head over heels in love with the sofa and throws.

I want this sofa.

These lovely whimsy coloured baskets and rugs are great for brightening the home.

I was browsing one of my favourite home decor blogs – Simply Grove when I came across some photos of a lovely home.  I just love the simple decor and the little pops of colours around the home.   The wooden floor is absolutely stunning.  My favourite room is the dining because it has so much natural light from the big windows.  I also love the foldable wooden table.  I hope that in my next home, I will have a kitchen/dining area with lots of big windows. I can picture myself sitting in the dining room, doing my skin care product reviews or reading a book.

the living area

the dining area

the children’s room with a whimsical touch

Mother’s Day is just around the corner.  It is time to show your love and gratitude with a fabulous gift.   Have you done your gift shopping yet?  Are you looking for the perfect gift for that special someone in your life?  Whether your mom loves gardening or home decorating, I am sure you will be able to find the perfect gift at Red Envelope.  They make wonderful gifts for godmothers too. Here are some of my favourites.

Floral Vine Etched Hummingbird Feeder

Hall Gallery Frame Set

Italian Herb Garden

Jewel Blossom Vases

Here are two great ideas on how to create some decor in your home.  if you are into DIY stuff,  then I am sure that you are going to love this as much as I do.  I found these inspirational ideas from CountryLiving.com which feature home accessories made from material found at the hardware store.

Cardboard tubes make chic wall storage.  I like this idea a lot because you can use the tubes as storage.  Sure brightens up an entryway.

You can create shelving to the powder room to hold toiletries with an upcycled wine crate or wooden box.  Add shelves to fit the box and then fasten a gilded frame onto the front of the box for a bit of glamour.

I am so loving these cute and highly creative idea which I saw at Livng La Vida Rita’s blog. Do you know what they are?  These are Plastic Colander Lamps from G.O.D. (Goods of Desire) in Hong Kong.  What do you think?  I would love to have a few of them in my home.   The red ones look like lanterns to me.

Had some quiet time after dinner last night so I decided to surf the internet and blog-hopped to my favourite home decor blogs.  I saw a few things that caught my fancy.  As usual, they gave me some inspiration on how I should decorate my home.

cobblestone floor in the living room via decorology.blogspot.com

Aerial Red Pendant Light from Habitat.co.uk

The long and narrow wooden coffee table via AliceinDesignland.

Hanging inspirations on the wall via decorology.blogspot.com

If you love hosting dinners in your home but are running low on decorating ideas for your table, well no worries.   Check out Real Simple.  I am so loving these cool ideas on how to create a centerpiece with things we have around us.    They are very easy to make and only takes a few minutes.  Some of favorites are:-

Float green Granny Smith apples in clear glass vase

A few pinwheels lollies in a bucket filled with sand

A beautiful cabbage centerpiece

Add some oversize leaves into a galvanized tub

I was at Apartment Therapy just now and saw a post on organized kitchens in small spaces.  This reminds me of the first apartment we rented many years ago.  It was a 500 sq. ft.  studio apartment which comes with a living area, a small bedroom which was actually part of the living area, a closet, a bathroom, a laundry room and a very tiny kitchen.  One of the kitchens featured in Apartment Therapy is almost like what the kitchen in my previous apartment looked like.

I wish I made used of the wall to hang to keep all the utensils and jars like the one above.   If you are looking for some ideas on how to maximize your small kitchen, check out Apartment Therapy now.

While my spouse was browsing www.happyeasterstore.com, looking for some Easter gifts,  I was busy blog-hopping to my favourite home decor blogs.  I was at Dreamy Whites when I came across beautiful blue cupboard.  It is an antique cupboard in the most delightful blue.  I absolutely adore this cupboard and I love the chicken wire on it.  It has a rustic, shabby chic look.   I would love to have one in my home.